Singing Love
by greivor of the souls
Summary: Rinoa has been out of Squall's life for eight years, but he finds her singing in a club. She has a secret that Squall does not know, nor does most of the world...will they ever get over it? Chapter Nine now up!
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters...if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! ï

Chapter One 

Squall stared at the mirror before him and sighed as he listened to the roaring television as he impatiently waited for the news to turn on. There was little snow outside of his bedroom window as the sun slowly came up through the mountains surrounding Timber. Since the defeat of Ultimicia Squall had quit attending Balamb Garden and moved to Timber in search of a better life. True, Timber was not the best place to live and there was always some sort of trouble in the government, but still, it was his new home.

The news turned back on and an older woman with bright red hair and giant green eyes started talking about the entertainment that was going on in the country. Her voice was really perky and it was starting to get on Squall's nerves. He was just about to turn it off when her voice said a once familiar name...

"...And in local news, singer Rinoa Heartilly is going to be performing in her friend's bar right here in Timber." The camera had cut from the chubby woman's face to Rinoa singing and dancing in a music video. Squall was frozen, his eyes refused to blink and his heart was racing madly with a passion he used to feel whenever she was in view of his hazel eyes.

"Miss Heartilly will be at the 'Lighthouse' club tonight from eight to midnight." The newswoman said, taking the images of the angel away from the Lion, bringing him back to reality. Rinoa had disappeared without a trace from the Garden one night a few months after Ultimicia, leaving her knight nothing but memories of the short time they had spent together. She was the reason Squall had left Balamb Garden; she was the reason why he had shut himself back into the cold wasteland he had lived in. She was the reason he had never found another love. Even eight years later he still could not bring himself to even consider another, he only loved Rinoa Heartilly.

He had never felt the need to feel secure in another's arms while his heart belonged to the one that had abandoned him. Her smile was the one thing that could brighten his day other than knowing that she was always there to support him. Squall quickly remembered why he never had let anyone into his heart soon after she left...they always leave. His parents left him to live in the orphanage; Ellone left him, and he abandoned by his soul mate.

Squall ran to his computer, went to the internet and typed in Rinoa's name in the search panel. Dozens of websites appeared showing pictures of her in some skimpy, some modest designs of clothes in different parts of the world. There was one picture that caught Squall's eye was one of Rinoa leaning against Laguna, only there was a little girl holding onto Rinoa's creamy mini skirt. She looked so much like Rinoa, yet there was a strange resemblance to someone familiar that Squall had seen before. There was no caption to tell Squall who the young girl was, so he figured that it was probably a fan of hers.

Squall stared at the large doors that lead to the Lighthouse and inhaled a deep breath of Timber air before walking into the crowded bar. He just had to see her for himself...if that meant only in a concert...


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters...if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! ï

Chapter Two 

Rinoa stared at her reflection in the small glass of vodka as she waited for Zone to fill the rest of the shot glasses for the small table that hid in the shadowy corner. The loud music was vibrating the ground and there was the sound of drunken men chattering to one another. Rinoa was glad that she would only be here for one night.

"Princess, can you please hurry it up? Watts and I can't hold these drinks for very long!" Zone shouted to her as he was pouring a brown liquid into a tall clear glass. Rinoa came out of her daze and quickly walked over to the drunken men with their vodkas. One smiled at her with a toothless smile and licked his lips with approval.

"Hello, Sweet cheeks, what are you doing after work?" He slurred, his filthy hand reaching out to take hers. But Rinoa was quick and put her hands behind her back and stared at the floor. She could tell she angered the older man, but she just continued to stare at the brown tiled floor. She had to make an excuse quickly before he tried anything funny. She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"I have to visit my boyfriend in Balamb Garden, but thanks for the offer." And with that she walked off into the back of the bar and slowly sank into a chair. She had lied to at least a dozen men before, but she had never brought Squall into the conversation. She had left him eight years ago, but he was still the only thing that was on her mind, especially when she was in Balamb for a concert or vacation. Her heart was always painful for her mistakes that she had made, but she knew that she did the right thing by leaving. She could never face him with the truth.

"'Ello!" A bright and cheerful voice said behind Rinoa, making her turn around to face a younger version of her. Rinoa had to smile at the seven year-old girl in front of her; her face was so innocent and perfect, yet her eyes were something much like the stranger Rinoa once knew.

"Hello, Amall, what are you doing here? I thought that Aunt Selphie was looking after you in the hotel room." Rinoa said happily to the ball of energy that held a sense of maturity. Amall just looked at Rinoa with her wide eyes and looked right behind her a few minutes later. Rinoa followed her gaze and smiled warmly when she saw the red head standing before her.

"Selphie, I thought I told you to keep Amall in the hotel until I got back!" Rinoa sternly told her best friend. The only problem was that she could not keep a straight face while Selphie was looking at her so innocently and Amall was giggling behind her. She and Selphie embraced like they had not seen each other in over a year, even though they had seen each other a little over an hour ago.

"Amall kept screaming for you so I just loaded her up in the van and hauled her little buttocks over here!" Selphie laughed, forcing Rinoa to laugh, and before they knew it, Zone was coming to complain that they were being too noisy. This made the young women to laugh even harder before Zone told Rinoa that she was on in fifteen minutes.

"Well, I better get going, come on Amall." Selphie said to the child. Rinoa embraced her and sent them on their way. She took a deep breath and headed out of the back to the bar and found Galan. "Hey, Galan, its about time you showed up. I thought that I was going to have to perform all by myself." She joked around with her cousin.

"You knew that I would never miss a chance to come to Timber. I love this place to much." Galan's deep voice rang in her ears. Any woman with a mind would find Galan handsome. He had short black hair, green eyes that shown through his sunglasses, his shoulders were broad, and to top it all off, his voice could melt a glacier. "Come on, Rin, we are on in five minutes." Galan announced before he dragged her off to the back of the Lighthouse where they warmed up their voices.


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters...if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! :)

Oh! And the song 'Mama' belongs to Black Eyed Peas...so sad, I will never own anything more than just a few CDs. :( Boo-Hoo!

Chapter Three 

Squall stared at the cherry wood bar as all of the drunken men and women danced, laughed, and drank the seconds away. He hid his face from Zone and Watts whenever they passed by for they might remember him. He took a careful swig of his beer and sighed. Squall could feel the green and blue lights beating down on his back as they continued to flash every few seconds. The toxic smell of liquor rang around the air with each breath that Squall took.

There was a silence in the music for a moment before everyone became quiet and the DJ stood up on a portable stage and began speaking. "Framp here to tell you an important message. This is what y'all been waitin' for...Singers Rinoa and Galan!" There was a loud applause that broke out in the large room as all of the colored lights shut off except for the ones above the brown stage. Everyone's attention had left from theirs conversations, drinks, or dancing to stare at the now empty stage.

There was another minute of complete silence before two figures walked out from a corner of the stage. Squall's eyes were fixed on the smaller one, figuring that it was Rinoa, even if the figures were cloaked and hidden to the world. The world seemed to spin in Squall's eyes as the cloaked figures continued to inch closer to the edge of the stage. Finally, when they could not go any further, they stopped and slowly removed the hoods that hid their faces.

The singers whispered in union as the music started to slowly play. "Forever..." There was complete silence, save for the music for a few moments before the beat picked up and the cloaks were thrown aside revealing the two characters. The man was dressed in a white button-up shirt and green slacks, his midnight black hair was slicked back with gel and his pearly white teeth shown through moist lips. But Squall's attention was quickly drawn to Rinoa...Her raven hair was still down with the same blond streaks still there, but it was longer than Squall remembered. Her white mini skirt was ruffled it multiple spots and it stopped just above her upper thighs, revealing smooth legs giving Squall thoughts. Her tube top was a rose colored red and to top it all off her face was lightly covered by a tiny layer of make-up. She was even more beautiful than Squall Leonhart, ex-commander of Balamb Garden remembered her to be.

"_Raining stars shine upon the midnight sky of my heart..." _(AN: Galan's singing is **bold **while Rinoa's is not; together it is underlined Tee-Hee)

**_"Stormy eyes look at the love with defeat..."_**

_"Every dream I had has disappeared within the night as he comes closer to me with each breath that I breathe..."_

_"All that I knew was fading with the warmth of him against the soul in the mornings of pain and depression..."_

_**"I ran as far as I could to you, the love the hate, every emotion had fled your face when I left you there with tears in your eyes...your face bruised and battered from the devil that lives within..."**_

_"Him...Oh Him..."_

_"I never saw rage race through an innocent face as it had done in that moment of sorrow..."_

There was nothing that could take Squall's gaze from the angel that was singing before him. Everything about her was perfect.

_"Rapping happens with you are gone...his abuse comes with each second he is here..."_

_**"Racing down the road to his home...I can't help but wipe a tear from my eye as the story unfolds in my mind..."**_

_"Leaving me in the dark to feel my pain inflict upon others' souls..."_

_"Raining stars shine upon the midnight of the heart as everything falls apart of...Him...Oh him..."_

_**"I'll never live again as the stars rain upon the windshield. Speeding down the highway to Hell's cavern..."**_

_"Please don't leave me..."_

_**"I will never be there again as the lights come closer..."**_

_"Him...Oh him...it was all him...the devil of rapping...the...devil...the devil...the devil of the rapping..." _

With those words the music ended and everyone broke out in a cheer...everyone except Squall. The song seemed to tell him something; maybe it was just his imagination, but there was something about the song. Everything was back to normal once the singers had exited sight and the DJ came to the stage once again.

"Framp here again, and that was Rinoa Heartilly and Galan Prince in 'Raining Stars'." He shouted over the racket of the drunken people slurring to one another. Squall was staring at the cherry wood bar once again, his head spinning with unanswered questions. _Why did Rinoa leave and never make any contact with me? What was with the words of the song? And who is that 'Galan' character anyway? _These were only a few of the swimming questions that lay in his head like a school of fish in water.

More music started up and Squall decided to leave, but something caught his eye. Rinoa was in the middle of the dance floor dancing with the strange Galan and a few other men in their mid-twenties. Squall felt really jealous for some reason even though she was not doing anything wrong. But then Squall listened to the words of the song. It was 'Mama' by Black Eyed Peas.

_Hey mama, this that shit that make you move, mama  
Get on the floor and move your booty mama  
We the blast masters blastin' up the jamma  
Cutie cutie, make sure you move your booty  
Shake that thing like we in the city of sin, and  
Hey shortie, I know you wanna party  
the way your body look really make me feel naughty  
Cutie cutie, make sure you move your booty  
Shake that thing like we in the city of sin, and  
Hey shorty, I know you wanna party  
the way your body look really make me feel naughty_

Squall noticed that Rinoa was mouthing the words to her singing partner; there was a complete smile on all of their faces, making Squall even more furious. All he could do though was stare at them with his jaw wide open.

_Gt a naughty naughty style and a naughty naughty crew  
But everything I do, I do just for you  
I'm a little bit of Old, and a bigger bit of New  
The true niggers know that the peas come thru  
We never cease, we never die no we never decease  
We multiply like we mathamatice  
And then drop bombs like we in the middle east  
The bomb bombas, the base boom dramas  
Naw y'all know, who we are  
y'all know, we the stars  
Steady rockin' on y'alls boulevards  
And, lookin' hard without bodyguards  
I do what I can  
Y'all come thru will...I...am  
And still I stand,  
with still mic in hand  
So come on mama, dance to the druma_

Rinoa just kept getting closer to him and mouthing the words to him...Squall just could not believe his eyes. Even though she had every right to date someone else, Squall felt a pain growing larger by the second.

_Hey mama, this that shit that make you groove, mama  
get on the floor and move your booty mama  
we the blast mastas blastin' up the jamma  
so shake your bambama, come on now mama  
Hey mama, this that shit that make you groove, mama  
get on the floor and move your booty mama  
we the blast mastas blastin' up the jamma  
_

His whole world was coming to an end when Rinoa was only a few centimeters away from the asshole. Squall was about ready to kill him. _Why would she see a fucking prick like that, he probably isn't even faithful to her!_

_We the big town stompas, and big sound pumpas  
The beat bump bumpas in your trunk trunkas  
The girlies in the club with the big plump plumpas  
And when I'm makin' love, my hip hump humps  
It never quits we need to carry 9mm clips _

_Don't wanna squeeze trigger, just wanna squeeze tits cause we the show stoppas  
And the chief rockas, number one chief rockas  
Naw y'all knaw, who we are  
y'all knaw, we the stars  
Steady rockin' on y'alls boulevards  
How we rockin' it girl, without body guards  
She be, Fergie, from the crew  
BEP, come and take heed, as we take the lead  
so come on bubba, dance to the druma  
_

Squall ordered another drink without ever taking his eyes from the dancing couple. When his drink was brought to him he drank all of the shot glasses contents within a few seconds, still never taking his eyes from the couple.

_  
Hey mama, this that shit that make you groove, mama  
(yaw)get on the floor and move your booty mama  
we the blast mastas blastin' up the jamma  
Cutie cutie, make sure you move your booty  
Shake that thing like we in the city of sin, and  
Hey shorty, I know you wanna party  
the way your body look really make me feel nauuughty_

Squall had had six drinks and he was pretty pumped up to attack anyone that messed with him so he just continued to stare at the close couple._  
  
But the race is not for the swift  
But for who can endure it  
And tippa irie and the black eyed peas will be thhhheeerre  
til infiniti, til infiniti, til infiniti, til infiniti  
Black in da house  
Nuff a dem a shock, nuff sey dem a sting  
everytime you see dem a pure bling bling  
O wata ting, pure madelling  
grinding, and wining  
and de manna dem a move in a perfect timing  
dem a dance and dance to the dance hall rhythm  
and de wey de tune nice, it finga' lickin'  
like rice and peas and chicken stuffin'  
_

Then Squall's whole life was over when Rinoa kissed the bastard's cheek, leaving a mark of light pink lipstick. Squall quickly got up from his stool, but he lost his balance, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and stare at his fallen figure. The music was still playing an the memory of Rinoa and Galan rang in his head._  
  
Hey mama, this that shit that make you groove, mama  
get on the floor and move your booty mama  
we the blast mastas blastin' up the jamma  
so shake your bambama, come on now mama  
Hey mama, this that shit that make you groove, mama  
hey get on the floor and move your booty mama  
we the blast mastas blastin' up the jamma..._


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters...if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! :)

Chapter Four 

Rinoa was dancing with Galan when she heard a loud bang from the side of her. She automatically turned to the noise and stared at the fallen figure before her. Squall lay there, cursing a string of words instead of trying to get up off the floor. Rinoa's jaw dropped at the sight of her lion, and she subconsciously ran over to him and knelt before him.

"Squall...?" She whispered to him, the cursing ceased and he lay motionless under her hands as they reached out and gently grasped his shoulders. He did not look up or even move other than breathe. Rinoa gently shook him and whispered his name to him a few more times before he forced himself to attempt to get up. Galan was behind her with his hands on Rinoa's shoulders for support, and the rest of the people that were there continued to stare at the scene before them with awe.

Squall looked at Rinoa once he was on his knees, tears were forming in his eyes. Rinoa allowed the cold salty tears to fall down her cheeks as she kept her eyes locked on Squall's. Nothing was said, but there were millions of questions ringing in the air. Rinoa was the first to make any noise at all; she gasped a desperately needed breath of polluted air and turned away from her knight. With one swift movement she stood up and walked to the back of the bar.

There, she sobbed and cursed herself for ever going to him. Her heart rang with pain and her head swirled with emotions that ran wild. No one came to bother her, for all that knew her could tell her timing. If she needed them then she would go to them. Was that why she went to Squall, or was it just out of habit? Tears rolled down her cheeks and all she could think about was the look he gave her when he saw her face. It was so confused and hurt that it made Rinoa nearly tear into two. All of the time they had spent apart was sorrow for Rinoa...she never dated or even thought about another after Squall.

Deciding that she needed to finish her concert that she had came here to do, Rinoa got up from her position on the floor, wiped away any stray tears, adjusted her clothing, and walked to the back of the stage. She preformed the rest of her musical talents and quickly left Lighthouse club without even saying good-bye to anyone.

When she arrived back in her hotel she thanked Selphie, and collapsed onto her king sized bed, not moving from her position through the whole night.

Squall still could not believe that Rinoa had even noticed he was there; she seemed to caught up in the man she was dancing with. And yet he was joyous that she would even remember him; she probably had many men courting her that Squall thought that she would not even remember his name, let alone his face. But she did remember him, she came to him, she even whispered his name like she used to. Squall had to get over her, she was his first fling in his crazy mixed up teenaged life.

Her image was burned into his memory, her face when she sang, her face when she looked him in the eye, and the look when she turned away and ran off. Squall had not stayed to watch her expressions when she came back onto the stage, instead he went home and collapsed onto his bed and thought about the night...

"That fucking woman can go to fucking hell!" Squall screamed at his bedroom door. "But I will always love her..." He whispered just before he passed out.

Squall was in a field of dead roses as a sun was setting with deep reds and black was covering half of the sky. _Where am I_? Squall asked himself. A figure was heading towards him, the darkness covering whoever it was. All he could tell was that is was a child. Squall ran up to it and knelt before it. It was a girl about the age of seven and a half with Rinoa's features but the eyes were gleaming silver.

"Dreaming of the demons..." The girl whispered, her voice husky and cold. What did she mean? Before Squall had a chance to ask, there was a bright light before him floating down from the sky. When it landed, Squall could already tell that it was Rinoa.

"Squall..." She whispered. Squall sat upright in his bed in his tiny home in Timber. Cold sweat was running down his back and his breath was heavy with panic. _What the hell was that all about_? Squall asked himself. After he calmed down a little, he fell back onto the bed and drifted back to a dreamless sleep.

A/N; Tee-Hee! Sorry that it has taken me SSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOO long to update, but the first week of Jr. High has been tough on this little seventh grader...I will try to update more...until next time...

Jo Tookey Tee-Hee


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters...if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! :)

Chapter Five 

The sun was shining through the hotel's fine curtains as Rinoa stirred in the large bed still dressed in the clothes she wore the night before. She could hear Amall singing near the window and turned to look at her. Rinoa had to smile at her, she always told Rinoa that she wanted to be just like her when she grew up. But Rinoa did not want Amall to suffer the shame of being a sorceress or the troubles she had when she was seventeen, going on eighteen.

"Good morning, Mommy!" Amall squealed when she caught her mother staring at her. "Why were you asleep so long?" The innocence rang in her voice, the same innocence Rinoa had until that night...No! Rinoa could not think about the past, she had to think about the present and her future, Amall.

"Mommy is just really tired, she had to work late last night with Zone and Watts." Rinoa explained in her motherly voice. This seemed to satisfy Amall because she started playing with her dolls that were spread out over the floor. Rinoa stood up and walked to the bathroom and turned the shower on.

"Amall, Mommy is going to get into the shower right now, I will only be a minute, okay?" Rinoa shouted to the seven year-old. She heard a grunt as a reply and stepped into the shower. When the hot water hit her, the memories of the night before came flooding back to her mind.

Squall, he had never left her mind for one minute, but seeing him there, to see him on the floor like that, it tore Rinoa in two. _I still love him that is my whole problem_! But he would never speak to her again if he ever knew the truth. So that was why Rinoa left and started a life of her own. She became a singer, she went on tours around the world, she spent every moment possible with Amall, and she still talked to Selphie. But Rinoa would never be truly happy again. Even if she could be with Squall, her heart would always be damaged.

Rinoa was grateful for the pouring water to hide her tears from herself as she let the rain-like drops cool. In truth, Rinoa's only wish was to be happy and with Squall, but he would never except her past that had destroyed her soul. Never would he be able to hold her without the reality of life shout around them; never would Rinoa find comfort from anyone, not even her own daughter, she was alone at heart.

Stepping out of the cold shower, Rinoa heard Amall laughing in the other room, then, another voice rang in the air, a cold and demon-like voice that sent chills down a person's spine. Before realizing what she was doing, Rinoa grabbed her pistol that she hid in the bathroom drawer, put a towel around her, and charged out the door with the gun out in front of her. Amall stared at her with confusion as her mother searched the room with caution.

"What are you doing, mommy?" The child asked with curiosity edging her voice. Rinoa continued to search everywhere possible before turning to Amall and sighing. Amall relaxed a little when Rinoa embraced her and laughed at her foolishness.

"Nothing, Sweetie, mommy was just having one of her moments again." The twenty-five year-old mother told her daughter. But Rinoa's heart was racing has the voice continued to ring through the room, for her ears only. "Why don't I finish getting ready and we'll go out for some breakfast?"

"Okay!" Amall squealed just before she jumped off the white-sheeted bed and bounced up and down asking if she could take this and that with her. Rinoa just sighed and went back to her task of getting ready before the seven year-old hyper girl decided to get her mother ready for her. But the voice was still ringing in her head...

AN: I just had to do a cliffhanger, they are sssssssssssssooooooooooooo much FUN!!!!!! Tee-Hee! Thank you everyone for the reviews!

Oh, and I might take a little while to update the next chapter because midterms have arrived and I have a ton more work to do for school, plus I am working on an audition for the school play "Guys and Dolls'...so yeah...

Until next time, Jo Tookey


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters...if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! :)

Chapter Six 

Rinoa could see Amall out of the corner of her eye as she sat down at the small little table in the center of the restaurant. The sun was bathing all inside, save for the people who hid next to the back wall. Amall seemed really quiet all of the sudden, especially for the little energetic pistol she was. Concern washed over the twenty-five year-old mother.

"Amall, what is the matter, darling?" She asked putting a gentle hand onto the shoulder of the younger version of her. The girl kept quiet for a moment longer, just staring at the wall away from her mother. Rinoa sighed and just continued to look at the back of the head of the raven angel.

"I was talking to Saza on the phone yesterday, and she asked who my daddy was and why he wasn't living with us. I have just been wondering who and where he is." Amall said with sadness, an emotion that she only showed when she hurt her finger or she had missed her mother. Rinoa's breath caught in her throat. She knew that she would one day be asked this, but the reality was worse than she thought.

"Amall...well...um..." Rinoa stuttered. Her heart was racing as her mind took her to that one night. Every second was even worse than the last, and before she could gain control over herself, she started crying silent tears. She looked away from Amall, towards the door and gasped. Squall walked through the clear door with anger in his features. The same anger that Rinoa was once able to tame.

Amall's eyes shifted to what she was looking at and squinted her eyes with confusion. _Why is mommy staring at him, he is not that pretty. And he has really mean eyes_. (AN: Most young girls talk about guys like that, so do not think that is how I really talk, and I got the line, 'he has mean eyes from a movie called _Yours, Mine, and Ours_.). Sure he was nice looking, and it did seem like he did have a lot of intelligence, but his face could tell you that he was not a very happy man. Still, Amall looked between her mother and the man that had now sat down at a table that was hidden in the shadows.

Rinoa could not breathe at all. Her daughter had asked her one of the most painful questions, and Squall was sitting at a table that was only a few feet away. She had to get out of the restaurant. She had to get out of Timber. She had to get out of this world.

"I'll be back in just a minute." Rinoa whispered to Amall before getting up from the table and quickly walked to the restrooms.

Squall ordered himself a cup of coffee and stared at the wall before him as the memories of the night before flooded through his mind once again. Everything happened so quickly; one minute he was downing vodka, and beer, the next he was face first on the floor. Then she was there, her features more mature, yet they seemed injured for someone still such a young age.

Squall silently sighed, taking his eyes from the wall only to have them land on a small girl about the age of seven, whom looked just like the little girl in the picture of Rinoa and Laguna. Why was she here, and why did she look so much like his angel? What confused Squall even more was that she was alone in this restaurant.

For a long time Squall just stared at her, never taking his eyes from her other than to take his coffee from the waitress. There was just something about her, some kind of familiar aura surrounding her every move. Even when she kicked her feet back and forth underneath the wooden table, there was still the aura. _Who was she_? The question repeated over and over in the twenty-five year-old's mind.

Time past before a waitress came up to the young child and asked her a question, one that would haunt Squall's mind for a long time. "You are Rinoa Heartilly's daughter, right?" Her perky voice was really annoying, especially with the chomping of gum between every few words. But the reality of her question struck Squall across the face like a hand.

The little girl's face brightened proudly before answering the blond waitress. "Yes, she is. Have you seen her anywhere, she walked into the potty, but that was forever ago." Squall's breath caught in his throat as each word seemed to pour out in slow motion over and over in his mind. That was when he heard the doors next to him fly open and there she was, his lost angel...

AN: Sorry it took so long to update, but I have been in bed, throwing up every few minutes, so, really incapable of reaching the computer without nearly dying.

Thank you everyone for all of the reviews, and I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. The next one will explain more about the secret that Rinoa is trying to hide from the world. And something tragic will happen to a certain character. grins evilly

Until next time,

Jo Tookey Tee-Hee!


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters...if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! :)

Chapter Seven 

Rinoa walked out of the restroom, her eyes watching her feet move in her white tennis shoes. Why had she hid in the restroom, why had she left her seven year-old daughter sitting at the table in a crowded restaurant? There was nothing that she needed to hide from Amall; she had a right to know. But was Rinoa just trying to hide it from herself?

Sitting down next to Amall, the young mother noticed Squall out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at the dark wall that was in front of him. Rinoa could feel herself tense up, her heart began to race, her vision blurred by her memories of the night before. She could feel Amall's eyes on her, her curiosity of her mother's silence. Rinoa turned and looked at her like there was nothing wrong, but inside she was bleeding from the pain her heart carried.

They ordered their food and waited patiently for it. Amall could not take the silence any longer, the question was haunting her. She had to ask her again, "Mommy, you never answered my question. Who is my father?" She folded her arms and sternly pouted, staring at her mother. She could tell that her mother was frozen once again by the question, but she just had to know the truth. There was a nagging voice inside of her that told her that she needed to know, but was not getting it out of Rinoa without repeating it over and over.

Squall continued to listen contently once he heard those words leave the young girls lips. He gripped onto every minute of the tense silence between the two, yet he still could not figure any of it out. Why did Rinoa have a daughter who just happens to be the right age to be from when Rinoa was still in the Garden...no! Squall could not think that it was from when she was still in the Garden, nothing like that ever happened between him and her. Everything was all just to confusing, nothing made sense, nothing!

Hearing a desperate sigh come from his angel's table, Squall was brought out of his thoughts and to a reality where everything was completely real. There was nothing that he could do but listen.

"Amall, sweetie, mommy doesn't want to talk about it right now, maybe later." Her voice was still the same drizzling tone with the same angelic plead she always held in her beautiful voice. Squall was always enchanted by her voice, but to hear it now, after so long, other than the night before when he was drunker than drunk, it was music to his ears. He could hear a disappointed grunt coming from the young girl named Amall and he had to agree with her. He needed to know who this girl's father was. But the biggest question in Squall's mind was how was he going to talk to Rinoa? She always seemed to notice him, but she never made an attempt to do anything other than ignore his presence.

Finally getting up enough courage to get up out of his hidden seat, Squall walked up to Rinoa and Amall with a prayer in his heart that she would listen to him and maybe even answer his questions. One thing was for sure though, she was not going to get away without telling him who the young girl's father was...

AN: Sorry it has taken me so long to update and that it is such a short chapter, but I have been really busy with school because the end of the term is coming up and I have been just too damn busy with writing an actual novel (I want to become a writer). I promise that the next chapter will give more information and will be longer, but it might take a little longer to update then.

Until next time,

Jo Pina Colada Tookey

Never leave the windows open at night


	8. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters…if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! : )

AN: I am bored so I am going to state the obvious. Amall Heartilly, Galan Prince and Framp are all my characters, so get your fucking paws off of them.

AN Continue: You will see more of Framp in the later chapters. Also, this chapter explains a _LITTLE _bit of information on what the hell is going on.

Little Secret: If you read between the lines, then you _might _be able to tell whom Amall's father is. Just a little hint for all who are stumped.

Thank you everyone for the reviews, I know that I have not thanked any of you, so I am doing it right now. THANK YOU A MILLION!!!!!!!!!!

Also, this story is dedicated to Lionhart, my dearest friend, as always, God Speed. I hope that I will be able to see you sometime in the near future.

Anyways, on with Chapter Eight. Tee-Hee!

Chapter Eight 

Rinoa could feel someone coming closer to her, but she tried hard to ignore it. Instead, she turned to Amall and started talking to her. Their conversation went on for several moments before Amall stopped in mid-sentence and stared behind her mother's head. Rinoa knew that someone was there, but she was trying so hard to ignore them as she had been learning to do since she had first started her career in singing. She stared at Amall's blank face before she spoke.

"Well, Missy, are you going to finish telling me what you did last night, or are you just going to continue staring at the wall?" She was irritated, her daughter continued to ignore her, Rinoa had never liked that, as Amall should have known by now. Before she could ask Amall again, there was a cough from behind her, causing her to tense up. Even though she never heard him cough, she could tell it was her knight by the tone of the cough, no one sounded like him.

Still, Rinoa continued to act like no one was there, but she knew that Squall could tell that she was avoiding him. He coughed once again before Amall spoke up. "Mommy, I think that the kookoo man behind you wants to talk with you." _Thanks, Amall, that's all I need, to talk with the famous Commander of Balamb Garden_! Rinoa bitterly thought as she turned around to face the lion.

He looked different than the night before, he still had the pain in his eyes, but he seemed sober and yet, at the same time, he seemed drunk. But his eyes were the things that caught her off guard. They just seemed so sad and lonely, causing Rinoa to regret ever leaving him. But the feeling quickly disappeared when he fixed his eyes on Amall, those cold, uncaring eyes that had followed her every move when they had first met. She could not blame him for looking at Amall with distaste, his first love showing up after eight years with a child is not what Squall would expect.

Rinoa just continued to stare in to the lion's eyes, pain swirling in her own. Why did he want to see her? She had disappeared on him, and yet she never wanted to. But there was no choice, her life had been torn apart in that single night, no one could have ever helped her. There was no reason to tell him about it, he would tense up and shut himself off from her like he did whenever her problem was to difficult to solve without the use of his gunblade. _No, I will never tell him_. Rinoa told herself over and over.

"Rinoa…" The word rolled off of his tongue and pierced through her broken heart once again. His voice could always capture her entire being and make her believe that she could do anything with him by her side. _Not anymore_, Rinoa once again told herself, _I depend on no one like I used to_.

"Squall," Rinoa replied curtly, trying desperately not to show her emotions to him. Outside, she look like any normal woman would, inside, however, she was dying. Her soul had been taken away and her heart was torn into millions of shards. All that remained was the pain, the pain that would forever haunt her dreams.

Squall stood in the same stance that Rinoa remembered from the first time the met, the same cold hearted, pain filled stance that she had grown accustomed to. He waited impatiently for her to say something, in other words; tell him all that had made her leave and not make any contact with anyone. Well, he was not going to get his way, he never did when it came to Rinoa Heartilly, that was one of the many reasons why he loved her.

"Rinoa…" He whispered in a hoarse voice, sending chills down the young mother's spine. Still, Rinoa just stared at him with a blank stare, her eyes bearing into his. They were both oblivious to the young girl that sat looking between the two young adults. Each second seemed to last an eternity, each breath feeling like the last one.

"What do you want, Squall?" Rinoa asked a few minutes later, turning her back to Squall and drinking her water like there was nothing wrong. Though Rinoa was trying her hardest to hide her emotions, she was failing terribly. Tears were forming in her eyes; her hands were shaking as she drank from her glass; and to top it all off, Squall was right behind her. He did not reply right away, instead he sat down in the seat next to her and just stared at her.

Amall was watching the reunion unfold, her head spinning with questions. Why was her mother acting so strange around this man? He seemed cold and uncaring, but yet Rinoa seemed like she had a past with him. Amall was confused; her mother was never like this around any other man. Rinoa, on the other hand, was not confused; she was dying of pain inside. Her heart was never fully healed from that dreadful night, but she was surviving through it. That is, until Squall came back into her life, and just by looking at her, reopened the healing wounds.

"Rinoa, can I please talk to you?" Squall quietly asked, hiding his face from Rinoa's sudden gaze. His mind raced, his heart was beginning to tear apart, and his soul had disappeared. Why had she left him? Who was Amall? And who was her father? All of these questions ran through his head has he listened to all of the conversations going on all around him. All of the young couples chatting happily while eating their breakfasts or sipping their coffee. _Why can't Rinoa and I be like these people_, Squall thought, _why did she have to hurt me_?

"What about?" Rinoa asked, her voice on the brink of breaking into a deep shriek of pain. Pain that she had felt for so long. Pain that scarred her very soul. Her heart ached to just reach out and hold onto Squall like he was a lifeline. But her mind would not let her heart take a hold of her again. It had once before and look where it got her. No, she would never let her heart take over her again.

"Well, I haven't seen you in over eight years…oh except for last night. But we didn't really talk then, did we," It was not a question. His voice was drenched with painful sarcasm. His eyes stared coldly into Rinoa's soft brown ones. Each second that passed in silence was torture for both young lovers. Everything seemed to disappear from the world as Rinoa and Squall looked into each other's pain filled eyes.

"Squall…I," Rinoa tried to speak, but anything that came from her soft, rosy lips were covered by a sharp breath to hold back her scream. Squall, on the other hand, was ready to tell her everything he felt about her. How he hated her for leaving him; how she always seemed to cheerful during a horrible situation; how she acted like she was only six; how she was always telling him what to do; how she was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. He would never say it out loud, but she was the whole reason why he started drinking, why he moved to Timber, why he was the way that he was.

They did not say anything, but there was some sort of silent argument on why they were there, sitting face to face after eight years. Everything in their eyes was full of pain and excuses of the past. Squall found that their was nothing he could say without opening his semi-healed wounds. The past years seemed like forever, and he knew that the road ahead would be even longer.

Before anyone could say anything, Rinoa's cellular phone started ringing. As she reached into her bag to get it Squall could not help but look at her matured face. She seemed so hurt, hiding behind a mask that could not hold out for much longer. Squall could tell that her heart was torn apart somehow, but she would pretend that it never had happened. That was the Rinoa Squall knew, she would never let anything show through her innocent face that she did not want to show.

"Hello?" She asked through the mouthpiece once she had the small item in her delicate hand and up to her ear. There was silence for a moment before her face brightened and her smile that Squall desperately missed appeared upon her perfect face. "Hey, Galan!" Her voice had turned enthusiastic as she listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. Squall thought about the name for a moment before he remembered that he was the man that Rinoa had been singing with last night. Anger shot through his body as he looked at his angel's now bright and excited eyes.

"Oh my God, I forgot about the photo shoot, are ya'll still waiting for me?" She asked after a few moments of listening to the bastard that was on the other line. There was another pause before the young woman sighed in relief. "Okay, I'll be there in a half hour, 'kay." There was once again another pause before she spoke again. "Love ya too, Galan. Bye." And with that she hung up the phone, told Amall to follow her and left without even turning back to say something to Squall. She just left him in that small diner with her bill and an even more hurt heart.

AN: Okay, so I lied about the information, but I have had A LOT on my mind lately. I have been helping two of my friends hook up, but my plan backfired…anyway, it is a long story. Plus, I have been too lazy to get up off of my ass and type, so don't kill me!

Jo Pina Colada Tookey Shokisa

**Never Leave the windows open at night** Tee-Hee! : )


	9. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters…if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! : )

Chapter Nine 

Squall stared at the empty seat that stood before him, that was only a moment, ago occupied by the angel that had rescued him from himself. Rage ran through the ex commander's body has he remembered what he had witnessed the night before with that bastard that had just contacted Rinoa. _Why must I suffer the pain of Rinoa disappearing, finding her, and finding out that she loves another man_? Squall thought as he stood and paid the bill of both his and Rinoa's checks. His heart stung with pain and anger, he had to take it out on something.

As he walked along the dark paved road, Squall thought about the times that he and Rinoa had had only a few days before she left. They were so happy together, why had she left?

(Flashback)

_"Squall, come see this!" Rinoa yelled joyfully from the balcony in the ballroom. It had been four months since they had first kissed on that very balcony, it had been the same time of night, the same song, even Selphie and Irvine were fighting over who got the video camera. Everything was perfect on that SeeD celebration. Even though Ultimicia was defeated, there were still wars going on in the world. But nothing really mattered on this night, for Rinoa and Squall had been engaged for one week. No one knew that, not even the gang, it was Squall and Rinoa's little secret. And that was how they wanted to keep it. _

_Squall looked at the group of new SeeDs that were staring at him, waiting for him to give some sort of speech. They all expected a great word of advice, but the commander had no idea what to say to the SeeDs in front of him, whom were only a few months younger than him. They probably knew just about as much as he did about the world of being a SeeD. Instead of giving a speech to them, he gave him one of his glares. They all walked off with some excuse or another. All except for one man with shockingly bright red hair and green eyes that were almost white. The glare seemed to have no effect on him._

_"What do you want?" Squall asked rudely, his temper running low for he only wanted to spend time with the woman who kept on calling him. Still, the young man said nothing, nor did he move his eyes away from Squall's eyes. The way he looked at Squall sent shivers down the commander's spine. His aura sang that he was somehow cursed, and trapped in a deep world and there was no getting out of it. Squall repeated his question a few more times before the man before him turned and walked into the swarm of people dancing._

_Squall did not waste his free opportunity to see Rinoa and what she was begging him to come see. She was always showing him things that she had learned from Edea, the spells were all very important to the young angel. And Squall was very proud of her for forgetting all of the things that people would say about having a sorceress being in love with the commander of Balamb Garden. All she had ever wanted in her childhood was to be a normal woman that did not have a political father, a deceased mother that used to be a singer in a bar. And then she got her sorceress powers. _

_When Squall got to the beautiful sorceress that was always on his mind, he could not resist a smile at her childlike face as she stared into the cloudy night sky. There were no stars in the midnight velvet due to all of the clouds that surrounded the now landed Garden. She looked so innocent in her light red dress and her hair that shown like the night sky twirled into a thousand little curls. Each time she took a breath, her eyes lit up like the stars that were hiding behind the dark clouds. Little did Squall know, however, were that in only a few weeks those orbs that shown like the stars were going to be hid by dark clouds just as the night seemed to be this night. _

_"Sorry, I could not get this one kid to leave me alone," Squall said as he walked behind her, embracing her shoulders with his now gloveless hands. She jumped at the sudden action, but she soon relaxed as she leaned into his chest as they looked into the cloudy night. Sorceress and Knight, it was destiny for these two to remain together forever. "But I am here now, my beautiful angel," His voice drizzled into the young woman's ear, and she once again shuddered at his gestures for the second time that night. _

_"It is okay, Mr. Leonhart," She whispered to him as she slowly turned around in his arms and smiled happily up at him. She always made his heart stop beating whenever she smiled like that. He smiled one of his very rare smiles, one that he only let her see. With a glint in his hazel eyes, Squall bent his head down to her height and gave her a tender kiss on her light pink lips. Their world had left the one that they were on only minutes ago, and to the world where they never wanted to come out of again. But they had to eventually face the world one way or another. But one thing was for sure, they would always be together in it, or so they thought. _

_"What did you want to show me?" Squall asked when they broke apart a few seconds later. He stared at her face, mesmerized by her beauty and affection for him. _

_"This," Rinoa said as she backed away from him and turned towards the cloudy sky. With a wave of her hand the clouds vanished and the stars shown like her eyes were, full of excitement and satisfaction. Squall smiled at this and stared once again at the angel that stood before him in complete bliss. _

_"Been talkin' to Edea again, have we?" He asked jokingly. The smile on her face became brighter as she turned to look at him. She could have just murdered Headmaster Cid, and she would be able to melt all anger away from the commander's heart with just that one simple look._

_"Has it ever occurred to you and your big head that it was all my own teachings?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips and looked at him with fake anger. The only problem was that she could not contain her laughter for very long. Squall stared at her for a moment in more confusion before he smiled at her and took her into his arms for one of his priceless kisses. When they drew apart neither of them could notice that Irvine was standing in the archway staring at them with a grin of satisfaction. _

_"Well, well, well…look who finally decided to show their feelings for each other in public. Now don't get any ideas like dancing on tables and striping for the crowd." He said with his cocky attitude. Squall glared at him like he planning to kill him while Rinoa was laughing next to him. Irvine smile grew bigger as he turned around and pranced over to a group of new SeeD girls with Selphie following shortly behind complaining that he never paid attention to her and that all he wanted was young pieces of ass. _

_"They aren't gonna last much longer." Squall said as they turned back to the now clear sky. Rinoa stared at him in shock and disgust before she lightly punched him on the shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him._

_"They are doing fine. They have their own way of dealing with their relationship and they are used to it! Not all relationships are like ours." Rinoa said as she stared at the star-filled sky as a shooting star flew by. A smirk grew on her face as she turned towards Squall and pointed her finger to the sky just like she had the first night they met and the first night they kissed. Squall smiled once again as he drew Rinoa in for a kiss that resembled the first one they had shared together. _

_"Now that is what I call romantic!" A voice squealed from the archway. Squall quickly stepped back and looked at the new SeeD that stared at him with awe. He had seen this girl around before and knew that she was talented with the gunblade, something very rare, especially for a woman. Still, he did not know her name, just that simple information on her rank and her weapon. She seemed very hyper active just like Selphie and yet had a strange aura about her. It was something about the way her bright violet eyes looked around at everything like it was the first time she had ever seen something like it. _

_"I didn't know that the commander of Balamb had a crush. That is just _so _cute," She said once again in that squeaky voice. Her blond hair bounced as she moved from side to side, tossing her feet into the air. She reminded the young commander so much of Selphie, but still…those eyes were something strange about them._

_"Can I help you?" Squall asked, annoyed by the girls sudden presence and the way she kept talking about the kiss she saw. The bouncing had stopped and she gave a serious look before she squealed again and started ranting on about nothing before Squall glared at her and she stopped and signaled him before she started speaking like a mature SeeD._

_"I'm Nin, and Miss Trepe would like to speak to you and a Miss Heartilly." Nin said before she squeaked once more and took off running to a group of giggling girls that were being hawked by Irvine. Squall looked at Rinoa as if she could tell him what the new SeeD was all about and why she acting a lot like Selphie. Rinoa just shrugged and walked passed him and into the ballroom. Squall still stood in his stance next to the balcony, Rinoa got irritated and grabbed his ungloved hand and dragged him to Quistis. _

_Quistis waved at them as she watched Rinoa drag the young commander along with her. She had to sigh as she remembered the way the sorceress had dragged Squall out onto the dance floor not more than five months ago. She had never imagined that Rinoa would be pulling him once more. True, she did have feelings for the commander, but once she saw how much he cared for Rinoa, there was not a grudge against the sorceress as Quistis had had before. _

_"Hey, Quisty," Rinoa said as her and her knight stopped in front of the ex-instructor. There was something about the way Quistis warmed up to Rinoa so quickly that made her and Rinoa so close. "What ya need?"_

_"Well, I just wanted to give both of you this," Quistis replied, handing them both books. They stared at her after reading the title and Rinoa squealed causing Squall to stare at her like she had grown an extra head. _

_"I didn't know that you got your book published, that is great!" Rinoa said joyfully as she looked at the title page and read the message that Quistis had left. Squall still stared at the cover, his eyes clouded over with thought. Why had she decided to get the story that she thought was personal and delicate to her published? Quistis had always been careful about what she did, and now she was writing books? It did not make sense to Squall._

_"I wanted to tell the world what it was really like to be there," Quistis said with a shrug of her shoulders. Anyone could tell that she was hysterical about it, but knew that she would never express it. Still, it would be nice if she had shown what she was feeling like a normal seventeen year old would have. "I hope that people won't say that SeeD is pointless now." The look on Quistis's face was like a child's; she had never looked so young and refreshed as she did at this very moment. _

_"Well, I should probably head off to my dorm, I'm meeting Edea early in the morning and its already pretty late," Rinoa said as she hugged the book to her chest. Squall looked at her and smiled. She always had her early meetings with Edea, but she hardly ever made it until later in the day. She could never get up that early for almost anything. But that was just one more thing about her that made Squall love her more. _

_"See ya in the morning, Quistis. Remember we have the SeeD meeting at 0800 hours," Squall said as he led Rinoa away from the blond, and towards the doors. Rinoa said good night to Quistis over her shoulder just before they were out the large doors. Nothing was said as they walked down the silent hallways towards the dorms. Squall just held onto Rinoa's shoulders like they were lifelines. _

_"I'll see ya tomorrow, then," Rinoa said once they reached her dorm. Squall leaned in for a quick kiss before he turned around and walked the few feet to his own dorm. He looked at her once more before she went inside, not knowing that that would be the last time he saw her in eight years…_

(End Flashback)

Why had he let her go without thinking? Why hadn't she stayed in the Garden? Why had she crushed the ex commander's soul and then walk all over it once more? The questions never seemed to end as Squall walked down the crowded streets and back to his small home. He had never read the book Quistis had given him. He had intended to the next day, but Rinoa had left and it had sat on his oak desk since that night.

Once he arrived in his well organized home, Squall went straight to his new cherry wood desk and searched in the drawers for the light blue book. After searching in a few drawers he found it. There was a worn look to it from sitting in the sunlight at Balamb Garden for so long, but other than that it looked like it was new. Squall sat at his desk and turned the cover to the title page and read the message that Quistis had written to him.

_To the man whom made this journey possible and for showing me that the world is not as bad as it may seem. This book is for the light that had shown through all of us in the end. For the times we all laughed, for the times we all screamed out in agony. This is the story… Love, Quisty_

The words seemed to speak to Squall as he read them. But the title spoke to him more than anything. _Tears of the Angel._ The tears of his angel. The tears that had been shed over him, over every pain that had touched her gentle soul. The pain he had caused, that is what the title meant to them all.

Squall turned the page to the first chapter and began to read the words that were once spoken; the emotions that were felt; the tears that had been shed. He read deep into the day and finished just before dusk. The book had made him feel everything once again. The last words were the best he had ever heard.

_Time may take us to where we don't want to go, but once we are there, there is no way to escape the pain and sorrow. But I do know one thing; the tears of the angel are soon to be gone. There will be happiness and joy as we all dance in the waters of heaven._

Quistis had put it perfectly; he and Rinoa could get through it all, they just need to work it all out. And that was what Squall would do, even if it killed him he would be with his angel once again and he would wipe away all of her tears.

AN: Okay, sorry it took so long to update this, but it was a long chapter and I have been grounded forever because of something I did…so ya…Well, at least I did update instead of leaving you all hanging in the last chapter. I promise that the next chapter will be up within a week and it will not just be a flashback. Also someone in the story will vanish. I wonder who it could be?

AN Continued: I need more reviews! I thank all of you who have reviewed, but my self confidence is running low…that is if I did have self confidence. But PLEASE review this story. It would mean a lot to me and it would tell me that I really could become a writer and get my book that I am writing right now published (It is not the fanfiction that I have been writing). But I am thinking about putting the story onto here under some sort of miscellaneous category. So look for a story by me called 'History of a Titan Demon' or 'Tears of an Angel'

Until next time,

Jo Pina Colada Tookey Shokisa

Never leave the windows open at night

Tee-Hee! : )


	10. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters…if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee! : )

Chapter Ten 

Rinoa had a hard time concentrating on her task of looking happy for the photos as the cameras continued to click every few seconds. Thoughts of Squall and the scene that had happened in the diner flooded her mind like a tsunami. Amall was quiet in the corner, she always was, but Rinoa could tell that she was wondering about what had happened earlier too. Galan seemed to have noticed the strange behavior in Rinoa and confronted her while they were taking a break to reload film and change clothing.

"What's wrong, Rin? You seem troubled," His voice was soft and concerned, but yet there still was the partying tone to it. Rinoa looked at him from the top of the wall that was set up so that she could change, and laughed and smiled at his dark eyes. The smile may have convinced the cameras and the paparazzi and all of the fans, but someone who knew Rinoa's emotions knew that she was hiding something. "I know there is something wrong. Don't use that face, it doesn't work with me."

"Nothing is wrong, Galan, I am just tired from last night," Rinoa said, her head disappearing behind the wall again. She knew that Galan would never believe her, but she could not let him know about Squall. She could not let him know about her past and why Amall even existed. Though they had known each other for a long time, he had never question Amall's existence or about where she was before they had started their careers.

"Rinoa, who was that at the Lighthouse last night? You seemed to know him well," Galan said, changing the subject, or so he thought. He heard a loud thud from behind the wall and heard Rinoa curse. Galan stared at the green wall and sighed. So he had hit a nerve, and from the sound of the thud, it was a big nerve. There was a long pause before Galan started to worry about her. But before he could ask there was another curse out of Rinoa just before she walked out from behind the wall and towards Galan.

"No one that really matters anymore," Rinoa said shaking her head. Galan looked at her like slyly before the camera crew called them back to the set. They did not talk through the rest of the shooting because every time Galan tried to get something out of her about the guy at the bar, Rinoa would just tell him that he was nobody important. There was something about the way Rinoa shut him off like so easily that bothered Galan.

As they left the building around dusk, Rinoa held onto Amall like she was about to be taken away from her. Galan had never seen her so cautious about walking outside with her daughter before, it worried him. He walked alongside the mother and daughter for the short distance to the Timber hotel before he finally spoke up about what had been concerning him all day.

"Rin, will you tell me who that was, please," His voice was delicate and sincere, but still, the young singer was reluctant to answer him. She looked at her daughter before she asked her to go into their hotel room. After Amall went into the room Rinoa just stared at Galan for a moment before she finally made any movements. She pointed to his room from across the hall and walked inside of it.

Once they were both seated across from each other with a tan table in between them, Rinoa's eyes started to get wet. She looked at the floor before her just before she turned back to him and sighed. There were not any other noises from the two singers for a long time before Rinoa finally spoke up.

"I met him three weeks after my seventeenth birthday, it was at the graduation party for the SeeDs at Balamb Garden. I was there to ask the Headmaster for some help, I never thought that I would meet anyone there… I already had a boyfriend that I thought that I loved. Well, I forced him to dance, not expecting that I would ever see him again," Tears ran down her pale cheeks as the memories ran through her eyes. "He was the leader of the SeeDs that came to help me. We could not stand each other at first, he was too cold for my liking and I was to loose for him. But that soon changed, we would risk our lives to save one another. Love, that is what you could call it, love. After about two months we got engaged, we were never happier… But all of that changed about a week after I agreed to marry him…," Rinoa's tears forced her to stop telling their story and take a minute to sob.

Galan watched his cousin cry in her hands, he himself dying a little on the inside. He had never been able to stand it when she would cry as a child, and he still, as a grown man, it killed him. He loved her too much to let her be this sad, but there was one question that haunted his mind now that she had told him part of her past. "Did you find out that he was cheating on you, and then he left you after you confronted him about it?" Rinoa's head shot up and when she faced Galan, her eyes were alert and shocked by the fact that he would even consider this.

"Hell no! No, no, no, no, no! Squall would never have cheated or left me, he loved me too much to do that. I-I…I was the one that left him," the confession was just barely above a whisper, but it was still heard by the man that sat next to her. Each second that passed was in complete silence, nothing made a noise other than the sound of people in the room next to Galan's. Rinoa's tears continued to flow down her cheeks silently as they sat there staring at nothing.

When someone finally made any movements it was Rinoa heading for the door to leave Galan to his thoughts. As she turned the knob, she paused before she turned around and said one more thing, "If you want to know the whole story, contact a woman at Balamb Garden by the name of Trepe. Ask her for a copy of her book," And with those words, the young woman was gone. Galan stared at the shut door, thinking about why she left him and why she wanted him to contact a 'Trepe.' Why couldn't she just tell him the story between them?

Galan walked over to his overstuffed bed and lied down on the soft blue sheets. Rinoa was acting so strange, and it worried Galan. She had never been able to control her actions when she was sad like this, and God only knows what she would do to herself because of all of the things that had been happening to her. Thoughts of Rinoa and her confession ran through his head until sleep overcame the young man. Still, in his dreams, haunting memories of what Rinoa had done to herself.

Galan awoke to the sound of someone rapidly pounding on his door. He groaned as he turned over to look at the clock that sat on his stark white nightstand and groaned once more as he read the time. Whoever was banging on his door at two-thirty in the morning better have something important to tell him. Galan sat in the bed for a few more moments before Rinoa's petrified cry came from the other side of the door.

"Galan, please open up!" Her voice was full of worry and sorrow. Galan was out of the bed and opening the door by the end of her sentence. When he saw Rinoa's whole body shaking, his tan face went pale. Tears continued to run from her dark brown eyes and her head continued to look from one side of the hallway to the other.

"What's wrong, Rinny?" Galan asked setting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her inside his room before people walked out of their rooms to see what was going on. Once inside, Rinoa paced the length of the room as tears continued to flow and her body trembled with fear. She did not look at Galan; she only paced the small room.

"Rinoa, what is wrong?" He asked once more, this time taking her hands in his causing her to stop and face him. Her eyes contained fear, a fear that would not easily vanish. She took a few more deep breaths before she quietly whispered into Galan's ear.

"Amall…Amall is gone," And with those words, the young mother fell unconscious from her panicking. All Galan could do was hold the silent body and look at her face in disbelief.

AN: Sorry that it took so long to update, I just have been stuck on what I was going to in this chapter. I apologize for making you all wait so long.  
Thanks for all of the reviews, and keep reviewing!

Until next time,

Jo Pina Colada Tookey Shokisa **Never Leave the Windows Open At Night**


	11. Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of it's characters…if I did then I would be on a private island sipping an erotic drink with millions of bucks! Tee-Hee: )

Author's Note: There is some blood and violence, so this is the start of why I rated it R. This chapter has very weird speech in it…so if you get confused; it is not my fault…much. Actually, it is really all my fault for I wrote this chapter. But still, it isn't really. My box friend, Richard, told me to write it a certain way or he would be mad at me again and go stay in Bob's practice room in her box and not let her box friend, Fred, in. And then Fred would get mad at Richard and yell at Bob, and then Bob would get mad at him and yell at him…then I would have to comfort Fred even though he hates me and always glares at me and well, having to comfort a fourteen year old murderer is not exactly fun…so this has really strange ways of speaking.

Chapter Eleven 

Time seemed to pass slower than it ever had in the young woman's life…her daughter was missing and the police said that all they really could do was wait now that they had sent out the news that Amall was missing. Time never seemed to be on Rinoa's side, but now, it was her worst enemy. It was her suffering and sorrow. It was the hidden face of death. Not many could tell that there was something wrong with her other than worry and panic for her daughter, but inside of the young sorceress her sorcery was growing stronger than normal. She was becoming the sorceress she was destined to be.

True, it was probably just because Amall was missing, but it was still overpowering her, nonetheless. She was to use her magic to find her daughter, and strike down anything or anyone that was forcing her to be away from Amall. There was nothing that could stop her as she suddenly walked out of the police station and onto the road of Timber, all the while whispering Amall's name.

No one seemed to notice that she was walking in almost a deep trance. No one seemed to care that Galan continued to run after her, calling her name. No one even realized that the famous singers were still in their little town. But all of this did not matter to the sorceress, or the man that continued to chase her.

They continued this little chase until Rinoa abruptly stopped in front of a small diner…the same one that she and Amall had been to not just twenty-four hours ago. She hauntingly walked into the diner and walked to a table in the back, hidden by the shadows. Still, no one in this small diner seemed to notice Galan calling after her, walking in a brisk pace.

Rinoa stopped in front an occupied table and stared at the man before her. When Galan finally reached Rinoa she was still staring at the man that had not yet noticed the sorceress standing above him. There was something strange about him…then it dawned on the singer…

XX

Squall sensed that there was someone staring down at him, but he continued to ignore it. He was not in the mood to even look at anyone. There was no point, they all were just blubbering idiots asking him if he knew where something was or how to get to a certain place. It was like that nearly every morning…there was nothing really new about his lifestyle that he now had in Timber. There was nothing for him to really do…there was nothing for him to live for.

The person above him breathed in deeply and started to speak in an enchanting voice. "Where is she?" These words were brought Squall back down to Hell; he knew that it was she. His whole body tensed as he slowly looked up at her face. When he saw her state he nearly gasped. A sorceress once more…

"I don't know what you are talking about," The words were trite-filled and caused him pain when he realized how cruel they sounded. But he pain vanished when he saw the singing bastard behind her, looking confused at Rinoa's transformation. Hatred flared throughout the ex-commander's soul as he looked once more at his lost love.

"I know that it has something to do with you. Where have you taken her, Squall?" His name came off of her lips with complete annoyance and a hint of hatred. Why did she have to look at him like he was a criminal? Why did she have to play mind games with him? Why did she have to shatter his heart into millions of pieces? Why did she love him once before?

"I don't even know who you are talking about, Miss Heartilly," Her name came out of his mouth with all of the hatred he had stored in his heart and soul before he had a chance to think about letting it all out. But she did not even seem dazed by his outburst. She just looked him in the eye, brown battling hazel, hearts battling minds.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Rinoa screamed, causing the other diners to look at her for the first time since she had entered. Squall felt a stabbing pain in his heart as she screamed at him about her daughter that he had learned about just the day before. True, he did not care about what happened to the damn girl that Rinoa was talking about, but just the fact that there was someone that Rinoa had preferred more than him to do _that_.

"I don't give a shit about your life so why would I go out of my way to kidnap your fucking daughter?" Squall yelled quietly to her. She eyed him with her mysterious eyes that now glowed red with her rage. The singer that stood behind her glared at Squall with death lurking in his stunning eyes. Fury ran throughout Squall's body as he realized that there was no way out of this without just admitting defeat and walking out of there.

And that is exactly what he did. Without another word he was walking back to his home where he could through apart everything and just think about how it used to feel when he was at the Garden, begging for another mission to get his mind off of Rinoa shortly after she left.

But when Squall arrived at his home, he saw the mail that was carelessly thrown onto a table from yesterday. He skimmed through it and found a letter from Zell. Something very unusual for him. It was usually Quistis who wrote to him, and he had not gotten anything from her in a few months. Squall violently opened it and read it quickly before he read it one more time.

_Squall,_

_Squall, man, what the hell have you been up to? Well, nuttin' much has been goin' here. No really major missions or anything like that. Us SeeDs have mainly just been walking around the Garden, bored as ever. _

_Anyway, I just wanted to invite ya to my b-day party. We are gonna have the best time! Now, I know that you haven't been here in a hell of a long time, but there is also an announcement that ya can't miss from Selphie. _

_Please come man, it would mean so much to all of us here._

_See ya,_

_Zell_

What the hell was Zell thinking? Inviting Squall to the Garden when they all knew that he did not even wish to return to that continent? But Squall would return for this event. He would prove to them that he could move on and act like nothing was wrong with him. He would prove it to himself was what he was denying… 

AN: Sorry it took so long to update. I have been debating weather to continue this story or just to leave you all hanging with the cliffhanger from the last chapter! Well, I have also just been to damn lazy to pull up this document and just type it.

Also, I am sorry that this chapter is kind of just all over the place, but in the next chapter I will explain why Rinoa is a sorceress again and maybe in two or three chapters you'll know what announcement Selphie has in store for everyone.

Please R+R! That is what makes me update faster!

Until Next Time,

Jo Pina Colada Tookey Shokisa

**Never Leave The Windows Open At Night**


	12. Author's Note

I am no longer continuing this story because I got a better idea for the same plot...okay, it is not a better idea for the same _plot _but it is gonna be better than this one was.

Also, the computer that had my story was a piece of shit and is now in shity computer's heaven. Sheds a fake tear Okay, so there is soon to be a new story up.

One problem though, the newer story will not be updated as much as I want to. I'm packing and so I'll be really busy with that, plus, there is only one more quarter of school left so that will take up a hell of a lot of time for me. Also, there is the fact that I'm getting sick of staring at a blank screen thinking about how I should put my thoughts and ideas into words. I know, I know...bad thing coming from someone that wants to be nothing more than a writer. But I guess that since I am only thirteen I have a _long _time to get used to writing my thoughts down.

So, I apologize that I am not going to continue with this story, but just wait for the next one. I think that my writing has gotten better since I put the first chapter up in this story. I will always appriciate all of the reviewers that put up with my strange style of writing. And I hope that you'll review my next story.

Until then,

The Wicked Witch of Jumpin' Jo Pina Colada Tookey Shokisa...the Sane One of the East

Never leave the Windows Open at Night!

Tee-Hee!


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